Afghan Senate thanks India for friendship dam

The Afghan Senate today thanked India for construction of the landmark dam in Afghanistan's Herat province at a cost of Rs 1,700 crore which was jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ashraf Ghani on June 4...

“The Upper House of the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, on behalf of the people of Afghanistan, would like to appreciate and thank the effective suuport and assistance of the people and state of the friend and brother country India,” (Reuters)

The Afghan Senate today thanked India for construction of the landmark dam in Afghanistan’s Herat province at a cost of Rs 1,700 crore which was jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ashraf Ghani on June 4.

In its ‘appreciation letter’, the Upper House of the National Assembly of Afghanistan hailed India and its people for “effective support and assistance” to the war ravaged nation.

“The Upper House of the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, on behalf of the people of Afghanistan, would like to appreciate and thank the effective suuport and assistance of the people and state of the friend and brother country India,” the letter, handed over to Indian Envoy Manpreet Vohra in the House, said.

The Afghan-India Friendship Dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, on river Chist-e-Sharif in western Herat neighbouring Iran, will help in irrigating 75,000 hectares of land and generate 42 MW of power.

Touted as a “landmark” infrastructure project, the dam located 165 km east of Herat town, is expected to significantly boost the agricultural economy of the province.

The project has been executed and implemented by WAPCOS Ltd, a government of India undertaking under ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. Over 1,500 Indian and Afghan engineers were involved in construction of the dam for several years in difficult condition.

Earlier India had constructed the swanky Parliament complex in Kabul at a cost of USD 90 million. India has a strategic partnership with Afghanistan and is implementing projects worth USD 2 billion to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure.